What Happened?
by The JohhnyMcKilt Productions
Summary: CSD.He killed him. Working with no clues whatsoever, they're on a mission to find out why. It's the greatest mystery for the CLAMP Detectives.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I dare.

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter One**_

Deafening screams erupted throughout the CLAMP Campus.

One crowd had no idea what on earth was happened and were running to the source of the commotion to investigate. The other crowd who saw what happened was fleeing from the scene in fear. Still, another crowd was just plain panicking, raising the level of chaos already reigning over the tense atmosphere.

Summer blue eyes of Imonoyama Nokoru widened in confusion and surprise at the tumult surrounding him. The blonde was fresh from a business trip and had not expected the campus in such a state.

Like the rest, he tried to ask what happened.

"Hikaru-san!" he called out to one of his running classmates. "What's going on?"

"Oh! Nokoru-sama!" she exclaimed in surprise and gave him an odd, melting look before bursting into tears and running away.

"Hikaru-san, wait!" called Nokoru when he recognized another classmate of his passing by. "Otaku! Otaku-san! What's going on?"

But the boy was in a state of incoherence. "Someone's dead!" he cried. "Dead!"

"Dead?" the young president said to himself more than to anyone else.

"Idomu!" Nokoru called out once again, having spotted the feisty redhead whom he had made Student Council Vice President.

Yudaiji Idomu turned to the source of the voice. "Nokoru! Don't come in!"

The blonde frowned. "What?"

Suddenly there came a low wail overpowering the noise of the students. It rose to a terrifying, throaty yell that made the back of Nokoru's neck stand.

Within seconds, a flashing of leaping blue dashed past.

"Suoh!" Idomu yelled and his companion grabbed hold of the ninja's arm.

"Suoh?" Nokoru began but the question he meant to ask died in his head at the sight of a torrent of tears flowing from tiger gold eyes.

A slack grip let him escape out into the street. Honking cars suggested that he almost got run over. But Nokoru wasn't paying attention. His focus had shifted to his hand that had held Suoh.

It was covered in blood.

"Idomu?" he queried weakly.

The pianist was unable to speak. So, without further word, the Student Council President ran toward the Elementary building.

"Nokoru, NO!" cried Idomu and pivoted on the spot, bolting after him.

Nokoru bumped into a high school senior.

"Imonoyama-san!"

"Takeshi! I—what happened?"

The Duklyon defender looked thoroughly disconcerted. "He's been—"

"Who? Who's been what?"

Takeshi shook his head and Nokoru took a hasty leave, deeming the high school student not helpful.

"Nokoru, please!" Yudaiji Idomu was once more hot on his trail.

"If anyone would be so kind as to actually TELL me what's going on!" the blonde snapped and skidded to a halt just by the entrance of the Elementary Division Student Council Room to avoid crashing into a curious number of people.

There was an awkward silence until murmurs broke out as the crowd began to acknowledge the Student Council President's presence.

"Miina-san, make way..." one of them said.

Nokoru slowly trekked the parting the students gave. The double doors to the familiar room were wide open and stuffs were in disarray, as if a whirlwind hit the place.

The blonde followed a small trail of blood and almost threw up when he reached the source.

Ijuyn Akira looked like he had been thrown against the wall before being killed. Embedded in his chest was a throwing knife.

The shock and pure horror forever etched in wide, innocent, storm-silver eyes seemingly conveyed a sad tale lost to time.

Nokoru stood transfixed at the sight till he became aware of broken, shrill screeches of utter grief. By the crime scene lay Ohkawa Utako and Ayuza Nagisa, hugging each other on the floor. The ebony-haired girl looked like she had been driven to the brink of insanity. Her soft-spoken best friend was beside herself in anguish.

Nagisa straightened when she saw him. "Imonoyama-sama, onegai!" she pleaded. "Go after him! This means dishonor!"

Nokoru gasped softly at the realization that hit him. He grabbed Idomu's hand and dashed back the way they came.

"Whatever happens," the blonde told the crowd over his shoulder. "Do NOT inform the authorities!"

--

"Hang on Nokoru!" said the redhead as the incredible pair was about to exit the CLAMP Campus gates. "The Takamura residence is inside!"

The blonde considered Idomu for a second before hopping onto his motorcycle parked near the guardhouse. "Suoh once told me before that his okaa-san's estate in CLAMP is where duties begin, and that his uncle's estate outside school is where they end."

Emerald green eyes grew as he caught the helmet thrown to him. "He can't be possible thinking of—you're kidding!" he breathed as they careened into city chaos, weaving in and out of heavy traffic.

Nokoru laughed bitterly. "Me? Kidding? Dear Yudaiji-kun, I don't even know what happened. Do you?" he turned to his companion as the slowed down upon reaching suburban residences.

The redhead shook his head. "Iie. We found him dead and Takamura-kun in shock."

The young Imonoyama heir bit his lip. "Did...did he look like he had anything to do with this?"

The memory of terrified amber eyes beholding blood covering his limbs flashed across Idomu's memory. "I don't even want to consider the possibility."

--

"Satoshi! Satoshi!"

An elegant lady not so very used to being distressed ripped open the paper sliding door of her brother's spacious dojo. "Why is he here?"

"Okaa-san!"

Takamura Suoh sought refuge in his mother's arns. His formidable uncle stood by the wall with a somewhat sympathetic expression on his face.

"Why is he here, Satoshi?" Suoh's mother queried again.

Her brother bowed solemnly. "He wishes to die, Takamura-san."

"Okaa...I can't!" her son choked out. "I can't keep this up!"

Mrs. Takamura bent down to meet the young ninja's gaze. She gripped his arms in an effort to steel him, but realized that they were stained with a substance unwanted.

"What did you do, Suoh?!"

--

They barged in.

They were rich, well-known and had license to do that. For a moment, Nokoru and Idomu did not know where they could possibly find Suoh. Luckily, a servant told them the way.

The blonde and the redhead cautiously entered a small ceremonial garden. From where they were, they could see the slender figure of Suoh's mother. Her face was set and grim as she looked upon a dais not far ahead, where her son stood, being assisted by his uncle to commit harikiri...or suicide.

The sword was being unsheathed.

"Suoh, NO!" Nokoru blurted out. "You are tied to ME!" he yelled sternly. "Now put down that sword! This is an order!"

A ringing silence reigned. All eyes were on the blonde, who was fairly out of breath.

"I'm sorry," Nokoru added quietly. "I don't know what's going on, nor does anyone else. Frankly, I want an explanation."

Suoh turned to face his kaichou, looking anxious to speak but could not find the words or voice.

"Takamura-kun?" asked Idomu as the pregnant silence lengthened.

Without warning, the tan bluenette passed out.

"SUOH!" exclaimed several voices, their owners rushing to the poor teen's side.

It was then that fate revealed the blood coating Suoh's arms was not Akira's but his own.

The crimson liquid flowed from a fatal head wound.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Two**_

Pale, slender digits ran themselves through damp, blue hair.

Nokoru was in the CLAMP General Hospital where for once he was not the patient. He had patiently stayed overnight to watch over Suoh while Idomu went off to collect clues related to the beginning of the entire affair.

It had been well over three days and the ninja's condition seemingly worsened. He had not woken up yet and was contracting a fever.

The blonde took it to himself to take care of his best friend while nurses were too busy.

Idomu caught him quite preoccupied wiping sweat off Suoh's face with a small towel.

"Erm," began the redhead. "I've gotten all I could find. The Forensic Science students of the College Department cleaned the mess up. The entire student body is ready for an institutional assembly and I have no idea as to what we can tell them."

The Elementary Division Student Council President sighed.

"Let's be honest. They have a right to know. But still, as much as possible, I wouldn't want everyone being involved and hiked up about then investigation we're doing. Perhaps at best we should console them; that way, we'd be left alone."

The redhead nodded and looked at their bedridden friend. The latter winced slightly in his position and let out a shuddering breath, as if his dreams were causing some internal discomfort.

"How is he?"

Nokoru hung his head. "Not good. Did I tell you about last night? He woke up screaming and I had to clamp him down. The nurses gave me one hell of a time trying to make me explain things..."

Idomu nodded once more, looking grim. The pair sat in silence for a while till it was broken by a heavy, shaky sigh.

"Nokoru?"

For countless times in the past few days, the fearless EDSC President began to cry.

--

"The Executive Chair, Mrs. Imonoyama, the Board of Directors, the Executive Vice Chair, the Executive Secretary and the administration, fellow Student Council Members of the University, High School and Kindergarten student, classmates and friends," Nokoru began solemnly, pausing to view the vast collection of people filling the Gamera Hall.

"I speak in behalf of voices deprived of justice." His tone wavered slightly and he paused once more to steel himself.

"We can count by our fingers the days that have passed since a dearly loved member of our CLAMP family was so brutally taken from us. I am quite sure that not many of you know what exactly happened, Yudaiji-san and I included. Tangible evidence suggested that another student in this school committed the crime, but I assure you!" The power in his voice made the listeners flinch. "He is also a victim! The student is currently confined in our General Hospital in a comatose state having suffered a fatal head injury not of his own doing."

"Currently, Yudaiji-san and I will begin our investigation of this case to give these voices justice. To ensure the safety of the student body and the speed of our operation, we thought it was best if only a minimal number of people were to work on the case."

A general murmur of protest met the statement and Nokoru held up his hand to pacify them.

"Please, as much as possible, if ever something goes wrong only few would be involved."

The noise died down and the blonde resumed. "It would be pointless and insensitive if the life goes on as if nothing happened and this affair was avoided. Treat the matter with reverence and discretion. But still do not let this loss stun the growth and integrity of our campus. Let this serve as a reminder that the world is not all fair, and that despite this we must not falter but trudge on as stronger individuals, overcoming trials and succeeding!"

Nokoru let out a heavy sigh. "My friends, a day from now we shall be holding a service...in memory of Ijuyn Akira," he swallowed. "...courtesy of the University's Culinary Department, which he loved and served so well. We will announce the venue where it will be held, and then after that the fu...f—Oh Kami-sama!" the boy ejaculated and turned away from the microphone, unable to continue.

By then, numerous members of the audience equally could not take any more of what they were hearing. Idomu stood from his seat and hastened to Nokoru's side. He knew how the blonde must be feeling; never did any of them imagine a day when he would be announcing the funeral of one of his best friends.

He took the microphone. "You will be noted of further announcements. That will be all."

--

The day was shiny but not bright.

The entire CLAMP Campus was at its never-before-seen profoundly beautiful best. If one did not know what was going on, she or he may have deduced a massive demonstration.

True, the star-shaped lot was filled with people from around the globe. They ranged from internationally known chefs and culinary experts, wealthy aristocrats (most of whom 20 Faces had stolen something from), models, (probably Akira's mothers' friends) to university students taking food-related courses and units, classmates and dear friends.

Nokoru and Idomu did not know how and where they could possibly herd everyone who came into one space till the latter had the brilliant idea of using the vast, spacious amphitheatre.

The blue sky was sporadically dotted with fluffy white clouds and the sun was hidden from sight.

Upon the modest stage of the outdoor venue stood the small white casket, half covered with numerous blooms and wreaths. To its right was a podium where distinguished individuals delivered their awe-inspiring, gut-wrenching eulogies.

Imonoyama Nokoru absently watched as several people paid their respects in this manner. To him, everyone sounded quite indifferent. They had not known Akira like how the Elementary Division Student Council did. It angered him to see them on stage. It angered him that the eternally optimistic boy had been so hurriedly snatched from this life for God-knows-what reason and the blonde was itching to get a move on with the investigation.

Idomu came back and sat down beside him. The Yudaiji heir had just come from the hospital.

"The nurse said he was finally awake but would not let me see him," he told Nokoru quietly.

The other boy was slightly relieved, both for the distraction and the news itself. "What is his condition?"

"Takamura-kun seems fine but they say he isn't talking."

--

Dull tiger gold eyes have been looking listlessly out the window of his bleak room for the past three hours.

It pained him to move so he thought it was best to stay out, besides, a mass assembly out in the amphitheatre below was interesting to watch.

Suoh wondered what all of it was for. The event looked like it was over because the crowds were stirring.

But soon his view was obscured by a dazzling shower of cherry blossoms...falling like rain.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Three**_

Things had a hard time returning to normal. A week had already passed and still the entire campus was submerged in a kind of stupor.

Only Nokoru and Idomu ran the Elementary Division Student Council.

The latter took the initiative to finish all his paperwork on time. If the circumstances had been normal, his ninja bodyguard could not have been any prouder.

But there was a reason for such zealous responsibility: the pair wanted as much free time as needed to solve the baffling case that lay at hand.

During the first session, both rich boys had stayed inside the office.

"So," Nokoru began, squatting on the carpeted floor examining evidences from the crime scene Idomu lay before him. "What have we gotten?"

"Nothing that would give us much of a lead," replied the redhead and held up a plastic bag containing a gray, bloody skuriken characteristically wrapped in purple cloth. "Just the murder weapon and pictures from the scene."

The blonde took the bag and looked at it closely. "It's definitely Suoh's," he said. "What about the test results of the collected blood samples?"

The pianist took some folded documents out of his coat pocket.

"Our guess was correct. The ones found near and on the victim, as well as the stains on the carpet and walls are Ijuyn-kun's. The ones on Takamura-kun's arms, clothes, neck and head are his."

Nokoru was flipping though a fairly thick stack of pictures. "The blood splatter, what was deduced from it?"

"The weapon was thrown from about fifteen meters at a height of...some five feet and seven inches. The pattern follows that of a regular stab victim. There isn't exactly anything suspicious about it."

His companion nodded. "True, but was Akira really thrown against the wall before being killed?"

Idomu hesitated in his answer for a moment because of the impressive causal objectivity in Nokoru's tone. The redhead was quite worried.

"Ah...the position of the body upon rigor mortis confirm it. Our Forensic students found internal bleeding at the head and bruises along the lumbar and rear area as well as the side of the legs and arms."

The Student Council President frowned. "They didn't perform an autopsy, right?"

His Vice President smiled. "Hai. They knew with just one look. That's how good the students here are."

A pause was offered to marvel at the fact.

Idomu then continued to report his findings. "From the degree of the bruises, I'd say the force Ijyun-kun was thrown by was twenty-seven kilograms by an acceleration of four."

Nokoru stared at him as he quickly computed the figures in his head. "That makes...a hundred and eight Joules?" he asked.

"Pretty hard."

The blonde was looking at the pathetically small collection of clues.

"Have we gotten testimonies from the witnesses?" he asked.

The redhead looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it, speaking of which..."

He stood up and stowed away the paraphernalia in his desk drawer (Idomu's table was located to the right of the chairman's desk. Two familiar tables to its left have remained untouched and uninhabited since the incident).

"...we haven't paid Takamura-kun a visit yet since he woke up."

Nokoru looked a bit uneasy. "He's probably still traumatized. I wouldn't want to badger him with questions about things he can't even bear giving thought to..."

Idomu smiled. "I never said we were going to interrogate him all of a sudden. We're just going to drop by and say hello..."

--

"Hello..."

The EDSCP and his VP cautiously poked their heads in Takamura Suoh's hospital room. It had been a favorite haunt back when its inhabitant was still asleep but now the air in the room was thick with tension.

The blue-haired ninja had been sitting upright in his bed, looking out the window when the visitors came.

Keen, piercing, somewhat empty orange orbs shifted their gaze to them.

"How are you feeling?" Nokoru asked kindly.

Suoh smiled. "Ijuyn, Yudaiji, I'm fine. But...what happened? Where's kaichou?"

The standing boys exchanged looks, the looked behind them, half-expecting to see Akira carrying tea and cookies, before turning back to the incredible being on the bed.

The bluenette shrugged. "What?" he asked, irked by their stares.

"Uh," Nokoru began, unsure of what to say. "You got hurt."

"I can see that. That's why I'm in this hospital, isn't it?" was the somewhat terse reply. "Where's kaichou?"

"Hello," greeted Idomu, in wild hope that he would be incorrectly recognized too.

Suoh looked at him. "Hello Yudaiji-kun. Do you know where Nokoru is?"

The pianist did not know who to answer and pointed to the general direction of where the real Nokoru was.

"Y'know," the blonde suddenly said. "I'll just go and check on your condition. Idomu come with me," and he dragged the redhead out the door.

"Why didn't a nurse inform us that—"

"Imonoyama-sama! Yudaiji-sama!"

Speaking of a nurse.

"Have you gone to see...oh," she stopped at the expressions on their faces. "Takamura-sama has amnesia."

Talk about deja vu..with a twist!

"Amnesia?" Nokoru said. "He thinks I'm Ijuyn Akira! Apparently to him, everything is alright! How would you diagnose that?"

The nurse looked surprise. "He does? We...we weren't able to monitor that this morning; his symptoms didn't suggest anything leading to it. Takamura-san was just thoroughly disconcerted when he woke up."

The blonde wanted to bang his head on the counter.

"What are we going to do?" Idomu asked him.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Four**_

"Look," Nokoru said firmly as he and Idomu rapidly trekked their way to the Kindergarten Division Student Council Room to inform Utako and Nagisa of Suoh's condition. "I don't want to play along. It may hurt but he has to know...because he HAS to remember so we could solve the case!"

"Yes, I know," said the redhead in a pacifying manner. "And we shall have to keep Takamura-kun confined in the hospital until he's got his memory back."

"I'm torn between doing that and letting him live a normal life. He's in danger too remember? The head wound he got wasn't made by him, or Akira for sure. Someone is out there bent on Suoh just like he probably was on Akira!"

For some reason, Idomu smiled. "I can't believe I'm saying this but perhaps a good solution would be you becoming his bodyguard."

"Who becoming who's bodyguard?"

The pair had reached the KDSCR. Nagisa had just answered the door.

Nokoru and Idomu bowed politely.

"Konnichiwa Utako-san, Nagisa-san," greeted the former. "Have you heard any news from our General Hospital?"

"No." Utako replied, leaving her desk. "Come in and sit down. Has anything happened?"

The elder boys accepted her invitation and exchanged wistful glances before answering the question.

"Takamura-kun woke up a weeks ago, but yesterday was about the first time he spoke," said Idomu. "We were wondering if you wanted to pay him a visit."

"Oh yes!" exclaimed Nagisa.

Her best friend seemed to be at a loss of what to say.

"But I must warn you of his condition..." Nokoru began darkly.

--

As yesterday, the door to Suoh's hospital room creaked open carefully. The two kindergarteners were reluctant to enter. The bluenette was slightly surprised.

"Nagisa..."

"Suoh!" responded the lilac girl and ran to his bedside, attempting to hug him.

Utako stayed where she was, encountering difficulty with piecing together an amnesiatic Suoh with the Suoh she had seen looking horrified at the sight of her dead boyfriend with one of his own throwing knives in his chest. The confusion made her shake and cry.

"What happened?" asked Suoh with small amusement. "You all are so very relieved to see me. I must've been in remote dang—oh no, kaichou! Is he in this hospital too?"

At that moment, Nokoru and Idomu came in, having had a word with the attending doctor.

"Hello."

"Ijuyn! Yudaiji!" was the bluenette's greeting. "Is Nokoru confined here too?"

The blonde's jaw dropped. Nagisa left the bed and ran to him.

"Did the doctor say it was okay to tell him?" she asked.

"Yes, it's alright," he replied. "Uhm...Utako-san?"

The red haired VP was squatting to the said girl's level and was rubbing her back. "Perhaps it would be more comfortable for you if you didn't hear this."

The young girl shook her head. "No!" she said with the defiance she was known for. "I'm staying!"

"What's going on?" queried Suoh as four faces turned to him.

Nokoru took a deep breath and approached the bed.

"Suoh," he began. "I'm not Akira. Ijuyn Akira...is dead. I'm Imonoyama Nokoru and you're here in this hospital because you have a severe and rare case of memory loss."

The ninja frowned.

"...what?"

The blonde put his hands on his hips. "Do I have to repeat that?"

Suoh shook his head and fell silent. Nokoru was beginning to wonder if telling the truth was a bad move from the way tiger gold eyes occasionally regarded all of them with a sort of suspicion he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Amnesia?" was the bluenette's question after several minutes.

The other four nodded. The temporarily bedridden boy was quiet once more.

"Your doctor says you're in fine physical condition. They agreed on your release tomorrow. You can come with us and see that this isn't a joke if that's what you're thinking..." said Idomu.

"Suoh?" Nagisa softly asked.

Suoh did not hear what they were saying. The time his head was taking to process the information was appallingly slow. A part of him wanted to declare it all lies; how could Nokoru be Akira and Akira be dead when Akira was standing right in front of him? Is it a cover up? If it was...then why?

Another part of him wanted to believe the whole situation because this loss of memory happened before, but that part was also skeptical because he knew what day it was and what happened the last time he was fully functional, but there seemed to be a lot of holes that needed filling.

Still, yet another part of him did not want to do anything and wanted to see how things would unfold before giving any comments.

He did not know how to react.

"I...I'd like to be released tomorrow," he said , not meeting Nokoru's gaze. He couldn't see them as blue anyway, but a haunting dark silver.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"You don't have to attend to your council duties if you don't feel like it..." smiled Nokoru.

Idomu nudged him and mouthed something like 'bodyguard'. His childhood friend 'oh'-ed and grew serious.

"Ayuza-san, Ohkawa-san, would any of you want to spend the night here with me?" the blonde asked.

Utako shook her head. I must attend to something, Imonoyama-san. But I'm pretty sure Nasiga would like to stay, wouldn't you Nagi?" she gave her a weak smile and the lilac haired girl nodded. "Though I wouldn't want to remain alone in the office. Can Yudaiji-sama come with me?"

The pianist raised both brows. "Sure."

--

"Are you really Nokoru?" the ninja asked the blonde in the dead of the night. Nagisa was sleeping with her head in her arms to his left.

The one whom he saw as Akira looked at him sadly. "I understand if you find that hard to believe, Suoh..." said Nokoru. "But try not to get used to this. What you're seeing isn't right."

He stood up to gaze at the moon outside. The amphitheatre below was then desolate and empty.

"Hopefully things will explain themselves tomorrow."

Suoh was studying him. "Tell me, if you are really Nokoru, why are you so sad?"

Summer blue eyes blinked as their gaze returned to the hospital room's dark interiors. "Akira wouldn't be this sad either if I were really him," Nokoru shrugged. "But if you'd really like to know right now, then it's because of what's happened recently. Remember the time Idomu-kun first came to the campus? That was barely some months ago..."

The bluenette nodded. "It was stressful," he paused. "Is it also stressful now?"

The blonde sighed and sat down on the bed's right side. "You don't really notice the stress when having fun with whom you're with," he said. "And unfortunately, it's true what they say that you can never truly appreciate someone until they're gone. The fact that Akira...it just sounds so wrong..."

Again, Suoh made effort to imagine that this was his daimyou talking and not the face he was seeing.

"I still don't understand," he said. "What really happened?"

Nokoru looked at him. "That's what Idomu and I are investigating. No one in the entire campus knows what happened before the murder and why it occurred. All that surprised everyone was Akira in our office, thrown against the wall with one of your kounais in his chest. You fled the scene wanting to commit suicide because Nagisa told me it was something about dishonor. Idomu and I stopped you just in time but you passed out from a critical head injury. You lost a lot of blood."

"Wait." Suoh was trying to match his memory with what it missed. "Didn't Nok—you go on a business trip?"

"Yes, for two weeks. When I came back, the campus was in a wreck. You've forgotten two weeks in your life," the blonde added with a smile.

"Anyway, back to the murder..." the bluenette was frowning as he fought to follow the chain of events.

"Evidence points to you because it was your throwing knife and witnesses say you two were the only people in the room at that time."

Nokoru stood and walked about.

"The investigation hasn't officially started. We haven't gotten round to interviewing anyone and I'm sure we won't get anything remotely useful. You would have...perhaps, but..." He trailed off before adding. "...it's like dancing with no feet."

--

Takamura Suoh was released the next day. By then the students had been informed of the ninja's mishap and were greeting him with sympathetic stares which were very much unnerving . The EDSC Secretary had chosen not to resume his classes or duties for a while. Rijichou, who had dropped by to check up on him, understood.

"There it is," said Idomu, pointing to a grave beside his mother's.

Suoh, Nagisa, Utako and Nokoru approached it, looking grim. The blonde swallowed as he read the name and its epitaph.

Ijuyn Akira

_The Earth is happy because of new things._

The two KDSC officers held their breath to stem the tears.

The bluenette however, did not see what he was supposed to be seeing. On his tan face was etched a look of pure horror.

"NOKORU?!"

"Wh-what?! NO!!"

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for one alert! Greatly appreciated! Hope this next won't let you down...enjoy!xD

**What Happened?  
**

_**Chapter Five**_

"No! No! That's not me!"

The small group of people went into panic. The noise was overpowered by a throaty, bloodcurdling yell.

"Suoh!" Nokoru went down with the bluenette as the latter sank to the grass in anguish. "Please stop," he continually whispered as the other lapsed in silent cries. "That isn't me, that isn't me. I wish you don't see what you're seeing!"

Suoh would not be calmed. "What happened?!" he roared with undignified grief.

"Suoh! Yudaiji-san! Imonoyama-san! Please, let's leave!" cried Nagisa.

"What happened?" came Utako, startled by the rapid turn of events. "Suoh sees Imonoyama-san's name instead of Ijuyn-san's!"

"He what?!"

"Idomu, let's get out of here!" said Nokoru, heaving the struggling boy to his feet with difficulty.

--

"You said I did this?" the ninja said thickly, breaking the silence of the Elementary Division Student Council Room.

He and the SC President were sitting on the couch. Their three other companions, though having prepared some food for lunch, did not have the heart to eat.

"No," Nokoru said firmly. "I've told you before that what you're seeing is wrong." His tone softened. "Please cooperate, Suoh. I'm still alive. Nokoru is still alive."

Dried tear tracks were made fresh as a new assault of salt water ran through them. Idomu thrust something between the boys. The blonde looked and saw that it was the pictures from the murder scene.

"I hope he doesn't look at this the wrong was too..." said the redhead.

"Suoh, Suoh." He nudged the bluenette. "Who is this?"

Suoh's first picture was of Akira against the wall, wide-eyed and shocked. The throwing knife was clearly seen.

His companions braced themselves for another outburst at the first indication of discomfort. Suoh blanched and there was an audible intake of breath.

"It's...it's a doctored photo..."

"Who is it?" Nokoru asked.

"Ijuyn."

"Does it looked doctored to you? This wall can prove it..."

True, Utako and Nagisa had splashed a bucket of the substance that pigments blood a fluorescent blue. The splatter pattern was the same as in the photo.

"It's really Akira," remarked Suoh, half with finality and half with disbelief. "He's really dea—I did this?"

"Nobody knows, Suoh," said the lilac-haired girl. "This investigation is on going, and neither Rijichou nor the students are pointing fingers."

The bluenette looked at Nokoru and saw his eternally optimistic kouhai...the very same lifeless body in the picture. He felt that he believed...and oddly didn't find the fact too hard to accept.

--

No more special tea and biscuits, no more happy "Ohayou Takamura-sempai!" every morning, no more enlightening paradoxical logic, no more Iggy Me jigs everytime kaichou wasn't around yet, no more psst-what-if jokes, no more hilarious cover up stories for 20 Mensou's exploits, no more sugar free Sleetsickles, no more Dancing Kyle, the interactive hippo to match Monsieur Pengi-san, no more go getter energy whenever kaichou wanted to party.

No more cheerful laughter to brighten a work-laden day, no more binding factor in the famed CLAMP Detectives, no more encourager on looking at the bright side whenever things aren't anywhere near promising, no more eternally optimistic smiles casually thrown you way when you need them, no more hyperactive bouncing 24/7, no more epitome of everything quintessentially innocent, good and subtly wise...

...just plain no more Akira left Suoh with a vague, sinking feeling of regret that he did not think of as all bad because something akin to the electromagnetic field of the Earth was telling him that Ijuyn was not gone.

Dead people are like that...or probable his amnesia added and extra amount of indifference in the ninja's system.

Either way, the sensation felt weird.

--

"How did the interviews go?" Nokoru asked Idomu as the latter entered the EDSC Room.

"None of the interviewees were even remotely helpful..." he sighed. "Most of them said the same thing: they saw Ijuyn-kun stabbed with one of Takamura-kun's kounais."

The two boys shot a glance at the bluenette working on his desk; the paperwork that needed filing was catching up.

"Anyway," Idomu continued. "Only Nagisa and Utako were able to give useful accounts. According to them, while they were on the way to this room, they heard a loud crash, a crack and a cry. Then they came running and...yeah."

The blonde frowned as he listened. "A crash, a crack and a cry...hang on, what about the other people in the vicinity at the time?"

"They didn't hear anything out of the ordinary, so they didn't think is was anything wrong...well, until they heard the cry."

His listener's frown deepened. "Well that doesn't add up. When I saw this room on the day I returned, everything was everywhere. You and I know that it takes time and some sort of ruckus to get everything everywhere."

Idomu nodded. "Exactly," he said. "It's either a large number of people are lying or something awfully suspicious happened inside and there are only two people who know. Just so happens one's dead and the other has lost his whole caboodle!"

The last couple of words were hissed out and made Nokoru laugh.

"Ass," he joked. "Tell me, where were you during all this? What's your side of the banana?"

The redhead momentarily quieted to think. "I was coming from the Electronics' Department. About a building away I saw the growing crowd in panic, so I ran to the source and hey presto, Utako was in hysterics. Takamura-san was ready to make a run for it when I grabbed hold and asked him what happened. All he told me was not to tell you because you know all about it and he wouldn't want you to know."

The blonde got lost somewhere in the middle. "I knew about it? I didn't know anything! Nothing was ever mentioned! As far as I can remember, Suoh never told me anything about secret ninja affairs—"

"I'm right here you know," Suoh came, reproachfully tired of what he was overhearing. "And I'd like to be of some help at least."

Nokoru somewhat brightened. "What's the last this you remember?" he asked.

"You leaving for a business trip," was the blunette's answer.

The whole room was silent as they waited for more.

"That's it?" probed Idomu.

The younger boy shook his head. "There was something in between that and they day before when I wanted to talk to kaichou about something important but I don't remember." He looked at the blonde for some help. "Do you?"

"You cornered me that afternoon," his chairman confirmed. "And then you decided that the issue...well, whatever it was...could wait till I was back. You said another option was that your mother could tell me instead. Apparently, neither happened. What is the issue about?"

"I don't know!" said Suoh. "Perhaps okaa-san would still be wiling to tell you—"

"Can't." promptly interrupted the redhead. "I've been to the Takamura estates in and out of CLAMP and it looks like your family momentarily left the country. All contact is virtually impossible."

The ninja didn't seem surprised. "Perhaps they've gone to the head of the clan," he muttered more to himself than to anyone else in the room. "They usually do that."

Nokoru suddenly realized that he did not know everything about his best friend.

"Idomu?" he began. "What exactly were you doing in the Electronics' Department?"

"I was teaching some of the University Frosh how to operate a—oh!" Emerald eyes widened. "How could I miss checking the security cameras?!"

--

Three extremely smart, extremely rich boys were along amongst the tranquil hum and buzz of the Security and Surveillance Room of the CLAMP Campus Section D.

Yudaiji Idomu was operating the controls and was accessing system files in search for a certain video caught by the camera in the EDSC Room.

"Found it!" was his triumphant cry.

Fairly good quality feed came up on the main screen. It featured Suoh and Akira busy with council duties on opposite ends of the room. The pair was in the middle of a somewhat heated, serious discussion. The expression on the late treasure's face was anxious as he stole glances of his sempai, who looked exhausted and stressed.

Quite unexpected as it was sudden, several things happened in quick succession:

Akira had seen something by the door. He was looking from the unseen something to Suoh with a look of fright and disbelief. Without warning, he launched himself at the secretary just as the something seemingly whizzed behind him. For a moment, Akira looked like he split it two, before the ninja caught him and with unprecedented rage flung the small boy against the wall with all his might.

Then, the feed was lost, but only for a time it would take one to blink. When it came back up, everything was in disarray and Suoh had let fly two throwing knives, pinning Akira to the wall.

As the boy bled to death, the ninja ran to him in horror, realizing what he had done. As he did so, a flash of something hit him on the back of the head. Suoh sank to his knees, still shaken and gaping at his undoing.

Trails of blood made their way down his arms.

The viewers stared.

It was undeniable that Suoh threw the knives, but how would he plead? Nokoru and Idomu turned to face him. The bluenette was white.

It was the unseen somethings that made his head spin. They were like essentials just out of your reach.

As tiger gold eyes stared transfixed at the horror and truth of the screen, a high-pitched ringing rang through his head.

Takamura Suoh cried out in pain, covered his ears and collapsed on the floor.

"SUOH?! Oh Kami-sama!"

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Six**_

"Suoh?"

Tiger gold eyes fluttered open as Suoh woke up to a splitting headache.

The trio was back in the Elementary Division Student Council Room and the ninja figured that he was lying on the couch.

Nokoru's concerned face swam into vision.

He bolted out the seat in panic.

"KAICHOU! I DIDN'T DO IT! IT WASN'T ON PURPOSE! THE ONAII—aaargghh!"

Sharp ringing once more rang out in his head. Pain seared beyond tolerance and he collapsed once more, unconscious.

"Suoh!" Nokoru and Idomu exclaimed, hoisting the poor boy up on the couch once more.

"Augh! This is so inconvenient it's almost annoying!"

The redhead frowned as he watched the blonde settle his kouhai into a more comfortable position and fix the pillows under his head.

"Nokoru, what's the Onaii?" he asked,

The other boy paused. "I don't know, but it sounds familiar."

Idomu was staring at him while thinking. "Probably it's that thing he wanted to talk to you about."

Nokoru stood. "If it is related to Suoh, then we must have a file of whatever it is somewhere."

The pianist nodded. "I'm on it. You make sure Takamura-kun's alright so we could ask when he wakes up."

"Ask me what?"

Idomu's bottoms had barely touched the swivel chair.

"I'll take care of this," mouthed the blonde. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he turned.

Suoh eyed Akira's face. "Sick," he smiled and sat up gingerly. "What happened?"

"After watching the surveillance video, you...er...passed out."

The bluenette's expression hardened at the memory of what he saw. He was angry at himself for having his life dictated by a grainy picture. He was annoyed and wished this state of ignorance would stop.

"Suoh, may I ask you a question?" His One sat beside him and looked at his face.

"Hai...if I'd even have a remotely helpful answer..."

Nokoru sighed as he felt his best friend's regret and just hoped for the best. "Does the name Onaii ring a bell to you?"

Memories that resurfaced the ninja's mind were more than sporadically littered with missing pieces, like huge potholes marring a smooth road. He suspected that the Onaii and two weeks of events were supposed to have been there.

"Maybe it's what I wanted to talk to k-you about before you left...kaichou." What he saw as dark silver green eyes regarded him steadily, expecting more.

"I don't remember."

Nokoru had been expecting the answer, but he was nonetheless disappointed and took great pains not to show what he felt.

"Do you have at least a vague feeling of what it was about?"

Suoh made an effort to think about it. He really did, and the strain was making his head spin. "Something involving mine and Ijuyn's families."

Idomu heard and was typing with incredible speed. Anxious summer blue eyes momentarily glanced at him before returning to the pensive yet pained ninja.

"Found anything?" Nokoru asked quietly, approaching the Idomu who was on the computer.

Souh's gaze shifted to them. There was a lively bleep from the PC and the redhead blinked.

"It's blocked...highly classified information."

"Is it asking for a password?" asked the blonde.

"No. It's blocked period." came the same surprised tone. "In effect it's like the data stops here...but there's more."

"Absolutely no way in?"

"It isn't in the database in the first place," the pianist explained. "But the data itself exists."

"Who's file are you in?"

"Takamura-kun's."

Nokoru sighed. "I guess its back to the old filing room."

His and Suoh's gazes met and they smiled. The blonde remembered the time his secretary and treasurer went down to retrieve Pengi-san as they reminisced about the day the ninja had chosen the young Imonoyama heir as his One.

"Old filing room?" Idomu queried.

"It's where everything is stored," answered the bluenette. "Filed paperwork, complete histories of every student, resident and employee in the campus, the site's history, what was on it before the campus was built and list goes on. They could date back to some...hundred years."

"Well that's convenient," remarked the redhead. "Let's go."

He shut the computer down and he and the blonde prepared to leave when Suoh stood too.

The expression on Nokoru's face showed signs of unease at the move.

"Don't worry, Ij—kaichou," reassured the ninja. "I just have amnesia. I'm not sick."

Idomu once more mouthed something that looked like 'bodyguard'.

--

It was a wonder why maintenance didn't place brighter lights in the high ceilings or the same light but with a lower ceiling.

The dimness and claustrophobic feel of the old filing room made it difficult to read the fine print. The lonely trio was neatly ransacking the isle dedicated to the Takamuras.

Suoh was looking with some amusement at his old aikido record when he was still in first dan. Idomu was feverishly flipping through generations and generations of Takamura ninjas and their charges. Nokoru was at the far end.

"Oh I give—"

"Found it!" the blonde's voice called joyously as he jogged back to the other two.

In his hand he carried a dusty, yellowing folder that was fairly thick. A single word was manually typewritten on the flap: ONAII.

It couldn't have been plainer.

In a sudden flash, however, the blonde hastily thrust the documents in the redhead's hand and turned about to protect the two behind him with arms outstretched.

Less than a second later, a shuriken flew to them with deadly speed and ripped open flesh from Nokoru's right shoulder, embedding itself in a hardbound book, mere centimeters from Suoh's face.

None of them dared to breathe.

"Let's get out of here," mouthed the pianist.

The bluenette stomped his foot down on a certain tile beneath him and they tried not to scream as the floor gave way.

Overhead, tiger gold widened as they saw a glint of summer blue.

--

One could imagine the shock of visitors, children, students and zoo attendants when three of the school's well-loved boys clambered out the elephant's drinking pool...well, they were two at the moment.

Water was coming in again and they had to run to avoid the gush of tide. The third boy was unceremoniously spewed out the large drain moments later, followed by a powerful jet of water and the drinking pool began to fill once again.

Nokoru's to-be-painful landing was stopped as he crashed on top of Suoh with a small 'oof'.

"How's the file?" he asked Idomu.

"Drier than you, that's for sure," was the reply and they all lay on the grass for a few moments, catching their breath.

--

"I'm pretty sure someone didn't want us to get this file," the blonde winced as the redhead tended his wound.

"Kaichou," began the bluenette. "Back when we escaped, I thought I saw someone we all may know, even if I saw him wrong."

Heads turned. It was known how 'saw him wrong' went.

"Who?" asked the person whom he saw as Akira.

There was a suspenseful pause.

"The blonde, blue-eyed Imonoyama Nokoru..."

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Seven**_

"What do the files say?" Nokoru asked Idomu as he, the latter and Suoh dined in one of the campus' many garden cafes.

They were strategically seated in the midst of a great, noisy, gastronomically dissatisfied crowd. The redhead had said that unless their would-be attacker wanted to attract a great deal of attention, they were pretty safe.

"They're in...English," was the slightly surprised reply.

"English?" the blonde queried and took a document from the folder to study it.

The ninja stayed quiet. The subject of who exactly he had seen yesterday back in the filing room had been dropped without question. Theories as to who held Nokoru's switched identity in the bluenette's head were dismissed. He cast a side long glance at his best friend, who had his eyebrows furrowed as he carefully but inaudibly read the foreign text.

"Can you understand this?" Idomu asked after a while.

Summer blue eyes were widening as the frown in them deepened, reading on.

"...the Onaii is a wide-spread line of exclusive fighters born and raised to...hate the Takamuras?"

"What the--?" began the redhead.

"Give the last couple of pages, will you?" Nokoru asked and continued. "The Onaii line was founded by Onaii Yakamoto during the 19th century when he eloped with the head of the Takamura clan at that time, Takamura Amane..."

"Amane-sama? She's my great-great-great-grandmother!" Suoh exclaimed. "Okaa-san said she was the greatest among us yet. Oba-chan reached ninth dan in everything when she was only my age. But then again the elders forbade us to speak of her since she defied our family code. Okaa never told me what she did wrong though..."

"Apparently, after Amane eloped, the Takamuras disowned her and condemned the Onaii," provided the blonde.

"Who are the Onaii anyway?" Idomu asked.

"Skilled thieves who work for important officials they've sworn loyalty to. They never get caught and they're exactly those fishy characters the Takamuras actively fought against because of the dishonor they brought."

"Interestingly enough," was the continuation. "...the two families fought side by side if they were working for the same official. An example of this would be that the Onaii stole from the officials' political opponents whereas the Takamuras prevented that same official from getting stolen from."

"It would be screwed if every affording family in Japan during that time had a system like that," observed the redhead.

"Not really," said the ninja. "In effect, my family would always be fighting Onaii, and the Onaii would always be fighting us."

"It grew worse after Amane was disowned," read on Nokoru, still translating. "The following generations of both families were taught to hate the other family and were trained to fight against them and come out as the winner. Though the Onaii were very good at stealth and judo, the Takamuras were better in everything else."

"The height of these feuds came when the side of the Onaii suffered many losses in a grave fight to the death. They've been hiding ever since but the hate for the Takamuras has never been stronger. And because of the secrecy of both clans, the feelings soon died out..."

"It all fits," breathed Idomu and he took out another file from the bag he carried. "This is Ijuyn-kun's family history. It's in Japanese thankfully."

He opened the folder. "We all know that Ijuyn's 20 Faces, right? His father was the original, internationally acclaimed one and," he shifted some papers. "HIS father was an Onaii...all of them are, but they don't know it."

It hit Suoh with the force of a boulder.

Several people around them screamed. Soon enough, the smoke and noise subsided. Everyone was stunned and staring at the overturned table where the three boys were.

Nokoru had dove under the ninja, who in turn caught the entire kaboodle of Styrofoam™ and cream.

"Nokoru! Suoh!" yelped Idomu, who was covered top to toe in flour earlier perceived as smoke. "Are you alright?"

"Just dandy," the blonde groaned as the bluenette helped him up and wiped some of the white substances off their fronts.

"Was that a Styrofoam™ cake?" Suoh asked.

"Beats me—"

"Yudaiji-sama! Imonoyama-sama! Takamura-sama!" a girl was shouting. "He took what you were reading!"

The redhead wheeled about. "Who did ?!"

"20 FACES!" someone screamed, soon to be known as Utako, for they looked and she was pointing to the sky.

All of them looked up and true enough, an incredible, leaping be-cloaked figure bounded from tree and roof top.

"Nokoru!" said Suoh and the real one looked at him.

"You see that guy as me?" he asked.

Idomu glanced at both boys for a moment or two before breaking off at a run after the mystery man.

--

"Duklyon?"

"Duklyon."

The chase had taken them to the quaint bakery. The vicinity was oddly devoid of people, but the interiors of the shop itself looked bright and cheery. The colorful trio approached the facility cautiously, then threw open the door.

Immediately, all the light and color from the small receiving area blew out the open entrance, like wild things released from their cages, exposing the true state of the shop, which was similar to a palace abandoned to deteriorate, untouched for more than weeks.

Dark shadows molded themselves into tall, hooded, humanoid arcs. More than twenty filled the cramped space, surrounding the three boys. All of them bore the mark of a black, red and yellow frog entwined in their pale, clammy fingers.

"Onaii..." Nokoru whispered. "Suoh! Idomu!" he commanded sternly. "Kill them! Whatever it takes!"

The redhead jumped over the counter and grabbed numerous kitchen tools to make into a make-shift sling-shot. Soon, kitchen knives of various sizes were whizzing through the air.

Suoh turned on the spot and sent dust flying as he took down several Onaii with one move. The blonde himself was no ninja, but had gotten into more than a couple of street fights and put skills there to use.

"They just keep coming, don't they?" called Idomu, having selected two knives as daggers to drive into as many enemies as possible. "It's like they don't die..."

The blonde ducked as the bluenette delivered a high kick to an Onaii behind the former. The pair straightened up and exchanged brief, puzzled looks.

Hooded beings around them exploded into sand as they were vanquished, but indeed, the number did not seem to decrease.

"They're duplicates," Nokoru concluded darkly.

"Duplicates? Of who?" Suoh asked, knowing the existence of such things only inside the television.

"We have to kill the source—"

"In the pantry!" said Idomu, jumping the counter in pursuit of the movement from the dark room.

There was a crash and the pianist's knife destroyed a glowing pocket watch, which its' accelerating hands were the cause of the Onaii's multiplication. The place was suddenly silent. A thin stream of smoke from the floor pointed to two smoldering folders, unreadable from the degree of their burns.

Light pouring from above caused the three boys to notice a large hole in the roof, as if Superman recently busted out of the place.

--

They were on the train.

"I didn't know we had a department like that," said Suoh, having heard only now of the Department of Differential Reality.

"They deal with supernatural phenomenon and extraordinary human behavior," informed Nokoru. "It's quite an amusing department, really, but apparently not well known. They don't have so much as five graduates a year. And their building is beyond the residences, the Tip of the Star if you may, that's why we need to take the train."

He studied his two best friends for a moment. "Are you absolutely sure neither of you got hurt back there?"

The two were dusty, but unscathed, and hence vigorously shook their heads. The blonde smiled and carefully shifted his pale, gashed leg into a more comfortable position.

--

Suoh didn't know why he was doing it.

After his perky kaichou found out that he had amnesia, it was like an exchange of roles and now here was Nokoru, putting his life on the line for the ninja.

It wasn't that he wasn't grateful, because it was quite the opposite. It occurred to him that the blonde was taking great measures to keep him alive, the reason he didn't want to think about.

Not knowing what was going on for about half the time he did stuff was extremely irritating...

...but Takamuras weren't allowed to complain or question their One.

After that Duklyon incident, he felt that life being dictated to him wasn't so bad after all. There was something in his gut that was telling him he would catch up soon.

--

"Konnichiwa Imonoyama-sama, Yudaiji-sama, Takamura-sama!" bowed a girl that may have been a senior in High School.

"Ohayou, Shibuya-san," returned Nokoru. "I'd like to meet you and the other members of your Student Council if you wouldn't mind."

"Oh no, not at all..." she answered. "Follow me, please."

They did, looking about the halls and rooms. Everything seemed normal enough, save for the frequent crashes and bangings within the classrooms.

There were several flashes of lights under the gaps of doors. Curious whizzes and swoops met them once every few steps, and almost everyone received a huge shock when a double door they were passing by suddenly transfigured into a huge cannon.

"Holy crap! Oh konnichiwa, Imonoyama-sama! I'm sorry to hear about Ijuyn-sama," said the student and with that, the weapon returned to being a door.

"Gomenasai," laughed their guide apologetically. "If we had known you were to come, the behavior of our students wouldn't be like this..."

The small party came to another pair of oak doors.

"Well, here we are," said Shibuya and yanked it open.

Behind the boys, a long train of toddlers flew by, giggling gleefully. All of them looked alike.

--

"It looks like your first time coming here," a male teen said as they came in.

"It is." Suoh and Idomu answered in unison.

"Konnichiwa Tetsuya-sama. I'd like to ask about some confidential matter about Ijuyn Akira's case?" said Nokoru.

"But of course! Do sit." replied the Department Chair. "Ran! Ichise!" he called to two other boys his age. "Help out will you?"

The Vice Chair and the Secretary exchanged looks before standing and joining their chairman now sitting on his desk.

The Elementary Division Student Council members were momentarily disconcerted but related the entire affair in less than half an hour.

Their tale was met with some momentary silence.

"It's simple," said Tetsuya and tried to explain.

"...so you're saying we're dealing with something that ISN'T HUMAN?!" yelped Idomu and Suoh in surprise when they got the gist.

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Eight**_

"Multiplication of self involves technique that deliberately goes against the Laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy," said the Chair of the Department of Differential Reality. "Actually, almost everything done here does," he added apologetically.

"It doesn't necessarily mean, though, that the one who delivered the technique isn't human," informed the Vice Chair.

"Little Neslie can do it; she passed by us before we came in the office," Shibuya smiled. "But in your case..." She looked at the three boys sitting before them on the couch and pushed the sheet of paper that Nokoru had drawn a crude symbol on. It was to resemble like the marking they saw on the Onaii's chests earlier that afternoon. "You are dealing with something worse than dead."

"The sign looks familiar," said the young blonde. "What is it?"

"The mark of homunculi," replied the DR Secretary. "Homunculi are products of human-making alchemy. Oftentimes, these products end up looking like the human they were modeled after, but have completely different actions. They may even remember bits of their past but only if they encounter someone or something that will remind them. Also, homunculi, though they can't perform alchemy themselves, have incredible powers."

"But such human-making alchemy is taboo, very dangerous and morally wrong," added Ran. "Believe me, the dead are best left dead."

"So you mean to say that the Onaii who generated those duplicates of himself back in Duklyon is a homunculi?" came Idomu.

"Hai," answered Tetsuya, heading to a computer by the DR Treasurer's desk and rapidly typing away. "There's another explanation for that too..."

The trio went over to where he was.

"Th-the Onaii died out over a hundred years ago?!" choked out the Takamura heir.

"That's contrary to popular belief," said Ichise. "Only a trickle of pureblood Onaii survived until the present time. Apparently, we've released a decree of the lineage's official end when Ijuyn-san passed away. He was the last, but true Onaii activists had gone long before."

"Why do you have records of the Onaii?" Nokoru asked bluntly. "The school's official database deliberately contains nothing about it."

"Don't get us wrong or anything," laughed Shibuya. "We have a record of the Onaii solely for out department's purpose. We didn't know that the clan had a relation to Takamura-san and Ijuyn-san until this whole affair."

--

"So...the Onaii are freak zombies who are after our blood," summarized the skeptical pianist. "How is this related to the case again?"

"Akira descended from the Onaii," explained Nokoru, as the three boys were safely back in their own council room. "The Onaiis and the Takamuras are age-long enemies. Perhaps Akira's dad found out and told him. Mrs. Takamura because aware about this and told Suoh. I don't know whether they left it up to their sons to decide if they'd end this war, but by the looks of it...things got worse."

"Where are you basing all this from?" Idomu asked incredulously.

"I'm concluding these things from what I've seen on the surveillance video," was the placid reply. "It's our only good, solid piece of evidence."

The blonde turned to Suoh. "You watched the thing, it looked like you two were arguing. If it WAS the Onaii you wanted to talk to me about, perhaps this wouldn'tve happened if I knew," he said in half question, half finality.

The bluenette shook his head. "No, perhaps not. Everything's making sense now but I still don't know the reason why..."

"Suoh!" the other two exclaimed.

The ninja had barely finished his sentence when he was suddenly robbed of consciousness.

--

The room was quiet, making it feel that it grew since he last saw it.

In the vast horizons of a pearly white void, he saw deep potholes, that once marred the surface, being covered up by buckets of floating haze.

Tiger gold eyes flew open. Once more, their owner sat up with a start.

"By Kami, I remember!"

There was a painful sounding 'bog' and Idomu and Nokoru emerged from under the chairman's desk.

"You do?!" they asked in unison.

The bluenette turned to face them, but he was quite dismayed to find that he still saw his kaichou as Akira, which for the first time in days disturbed him.

Sometimes it was true that ignorance was bliss.

The blonde knew what thought must've crossed his best friend's head at the change of expression on his face. He nudged the redhead beside him and made a gesture implying that he ask Suoh the needed information instead.

"I'll be the watchman by the door," he added out loud and made a point to let the inhabitants of the room see him walk to the aforementioned spot.

"You've got some serious explaining to do," Idomu told the ninja good-naturedly.

Suoh smiled. "I guess." He cast a nervous glance at the Akira looking out the SC room. The other boy felt the gaze and beamed at him.

"Remember what he told you," the pianist reminded in a low voice.

"I know," the bluenette hissed. "It's just that...what is he guarding the door for?"

Idomu stared at the question. He frowned when an innocent suggestion began blooming in his head and instantly suppressed it.

"He knew you'd be uncomfortable," he instead said. "Probably telling us what really happened might ease the tension."

Suoh heaved a heavy sigh. "Kaichou is correct. I knew long ago about the Onaii; I even hated them a bit, I couldn't help it. Okaa-san then told me that the Onaii had not completely died out; my family's been trying to wipe them out for ages. I asked who could've possibly been left. You could imagine my shock when she confessed the Ijuyns."

Amber orbs shot a glance at Nokoru, who was poking his head out the gap in the double oak doors.

"Okaa said they were harmless; they didn't know that they were even Onaii and that they had such a family history. But no matter how well the past was covered up, they still are thieves. Unfortunately for us, Ijuyn's otou-san found out from his ogi-chan and the fat was in the fire. I became problematic; kaichou noticed and Ijuyn knew. None of us were given instructions as to make any kind of truce; I wanted to avoid a nasty fight."

"Before Nokoru's business trip, I told myself that he needed to know about this whole affair. Honestly I didn't want him to leave for safety's sake. Ijuyn was becoming more aware of the Onaii and we'd often argue about it when kaichou wasn't in the office. On the last stupid minute I decided that the thing can wait till the business trip was over. Apparently, I was wrong..."

There was a heavy sniff. Idomu began rubbing the ninja's back. Nokoru had withdrawn his head and was staring at his friends.

"On that day..." Suoh continued thickly. "We were arguing again. Ijuyn was fiercely defending and justifying what his family did. I was telling him that he should ignore it, that everything involving Onaii was ridiculous. Then the door opened and no one was behind it. Akira suddenly lunged at me and I thought 'This was it.' And I acted by instinct. Until we watched the video, I didn't notice the shadow...the room in a mess..."

After the lengthy monolouge, he placed his head in his hands, remembering his emotional and physical pain and confusion. He had considered his brain not functioning well from the second he let that shuriken fly with deadly aim. Blood had been everywhere...

The room was quiet for a while.

"You're innocent."

The redhead and bluenette turned to look at Nokoru, who had curiously reduced the gap between the doors to less than an inch and was peeking out of it.

"What's going on, Nokoru?" Idomu asked, standing up. His companion followed the suit.

"He's here," the blonde answered. "The shadow you were talking about? I have reason to believe it's the homunculus and he's going to pass by."

He locked the doors.

"How--?" the pianist began.

"He knows Suoh remembers, and he's going to try and kill him. It's an Onaii and that's all they desire."

The tan boy walked over to the keyhole however and took a peep.

"Nokoru..." he whispered.

"You know what we should have done?" asked Idomu rhetorically. "Asked Ijuyn-kun's mothers!"

"But only his dad knew about the Onaii, right?"

--

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Utako screamed.

Small ambulances and police cars carrying students interns and junior officers flocked to the scene.

As gossip went in CLAMP, things that happened in the Ijuyn estate spread like wild fire.

Soon, Nokoru, Suoh and Idomu came running to the site.

"What happened?" they randomly asked people gathered here and there. Nobody gave them a straight answer, so they fought their way to the front entrance.

"Oh my Kami-sama!" the ninja ejaculated in an undignified manner.

Utako saw them and ran toward them. She hid behind the three, cowering in fear at what lay in the spacious, receiving area.

Akira's two mothers had been slaughtered on their red carpet. The walls bore their dying words...

'_NOT OUR SON'_

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: I am unsure of the name of Akira's dad.

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Nine**_

"Why? WHY?!"

Her punches were fruitless; they lacked strength. "You knew they were going to die! Why did you let them die?!"

Nokoru didn't have the heart to answer. The sinking feeling in his chest worsened. A single truth rang out in his head like a death sentence: He knows.

"Ohkawa-kaichou?" called a gentle voice from within the crowds. "Utako-san?"

Nagisa emerged and let out a gasp of shock as her best friend ran crying in her arms. "What happened?!"

"Ohkawa-jo, Nagisa-jo, please come with us," Idomu asked gently. "We need to know something really important."

The two young girls exchanged teary, puzzled looks. What else could be done? The obliged and followed the redhead. Suoh looked at his kaichou and saw the heart melting face of his kouhai stunned and devastated at the deaths of his mothers.

---

"Yes, I've been talking with Akira-kun's mothers," the ebony haired girl said quietly amidst steam from many cups of tea. "They told me they were afraid to come out and speak up. If they did, for sure Ijuyn Shigetoshi-sama would get it trouble. After all, more people remember the Onaii than anyone thought."

"So you know about them?" Suoh asked.

Nokoru was still silent. The girls nodded.

"Akira's okaas were very scared at what their husband told them after their son died. I kept asking what it was but they were afraid. They couldn't tell anyone else because they knew their lives were in danger. Imonoyama-sama was bound to find out about the Onaii. The Duklyon incident proved it. Shigetoshi-sama wanted to revive the Onaii legacy. It was cruel hard work."

"Are you talking about the homunculi?" asked Idomu. "Shigetoshi-sama is trained in...alchemy?"

The words just did not fit.

Utako shook her head violently. Nagisa came to her aid.

"That is confidential matter that the Ijuyns did not want to confide in Utako-sama," she said. "They only told her that they did not like how this whole affair was turning out. They said too much already. Today was supposedly the day when they would reveal the truth; they had gathered their courage."

"They got killed before they even got the chance." Nokoru suddenly spoke after several minutes.

The plot thickens.

---

Suoh wasn't working. He only pretended to work. The computer screen looked blank before him.

"All of our lives are now in danger," their red haired pianist had declared. "We are dealing with unknown forces..."

The bluenette did not bother to hear the rest. Unknown forces his sock-clad foot! He had been dealing with unknown forces all his short life! His family code, their mysterious past, the stories behind all the prodigies in CLAMP Campus, Idomu's practical genius, Utako's fierce attitude, Akira's eternal optimism, Nagisa's soft smile, Nokoru's oddly brilliant way of thinking...everyday unknown forces.

What were the homunculi to him? Homunculi that looked like his One, that's what they were to him. Suoh's heart ached to see the perky blonde again. The latter may claim to the ends of the earth that he was with them, alive and well, and as much as the bluenette wanted to believe him, a part of him still stubbornly shouted that it was all wrong.

Nokoru had changed since Akira's death. No amount of anything would bring the old him back. It was as if things weren't real, that everything was just a bad dream...that this would all end very soon.

"Suoh?"

Nagisa snapped him out of his reverie. She squatted by his feet on the carpeted floor. "What are you thinking of? Do you have your memory back?"

He smiled at her and stoked her silky-lilac hair. "I remember, not that I want to though." There was sadness in tiger gold eyes as they shifted their gaze to the spot on the wall which blood once stained.

He was surprised when small arms wrapped around him in a hug. Suoh found himself wanting to cry. A gasp from Utako over where she was by Idomu made the inhabitants of the room look.

"Miina-san," the redhead began. "Is this good news or bad news?"

"What?" they chorused and went near him.

Idomu had been reading a file from his computer, the young kindergartener had been watching over his shoulder. "Ijuyn Shigetoshi-sama is dead."

Nokoru and Suoh rounded on him. "Dead?!" they cried in disbelief.

"Three days ago by the Takamura clan," Idomu confirmed.

So who killed Akira's mothers?

"He was a homunculus when he killed his wives?" asked the ninja.

Idomu swallowed. "No. See, it says here that he was already a homunculus when your family killed him. They found him on the run in France."

"France?"

Maybe that was the reason the Takamura family temporarily stationed themselves outside Japan.

"If Ijuyn-sama was the one behind our recent mysterious accidents." Nokoru began in a low tone. "France to Japan is still very far, even for homunculi with great powers."

"But if he died three days ago, and he was already a homunculus," argued the redhead. "Then who killed Akira-kun's mothers?"

The words NOT OUR SON written in blood flashed across the chairman's memory and all of a sudden, Utako's story made sense.

He promptly turned the same shade as his secretary's hair and threw up in the trash bin. Several voices cried out at once.

"Nokoru!" Suoh exclaimed. "Are you alright?!"

"No..." the blonde choked out, seemingly deaf to the other boy's concern. "It can't be...how could he do such a thing?"

Emerald eyes flashed warningly. "What are you saying?" Idomu hissed.

"What's going on?" Utako asked weakly when the dusty computer beside the bluenette's desk flickered to life.

The pianist quietly swore and shot from his seat like it was on fire. He grabbed the Kindergarten Division Student Council President's hand and sought safety with Nokoru by his desk. Suoh did likewise with Nagisa, who's realization made her mournful wail rise to a scream.

There was a deafening bang and a blaze of lighting. The night sky pulled a lever and let flow her celestial dam.

Lights buzzed and blinked slightly. The tiny group huddled closer to each other in genuine fear. The ninja saw something shoot past his peripheral vision. He turned and looked out of the glass to see a familiar figure braving the rain in a black cloak.

"There!" he said and pointed. "There is the boy I see as kaichou!"

Moving as a unit, the group ran out the council room in hot pursuit of this mystery man.

---

"Idomu-kun, are all of the students in their dorms or buildings?" Nokoru asked as they raced past the looming Gamera hall.

The small party was drenched to the bone.

The redhead pulled out his PDA and accessed a program much like a GPRS tracking system. He protected his device futilely with a rain-soaked hand. "No one on the grounds except for security. Not all the students are asleep but they're in their buildings."

"Good. At lea--"

"Holy crap."

Suoh had stopped dead, making Utako and Nagisa almost collide into him.

"What in the world?" began the Vice President.

They had reached the cemetery. Feeble light from the posts reflected off the pour of raindrops and made the environment hard to see.

Throwing knives and shurikens impaled trees and chipped tombstones everywhere. Fresh corpses littered the vicinity. Though their number wasn't much, the effect was horrifying.

Seven to ten Takamuras had their necks bent the wrong way. A couple more had limbs ripped from their bodies. There were no stab wounds, no blows to the head, nothing...as if the brutal massacre was all done by hand.

"M-more than one homunculus?" asked the youngest girl in the group, raising her voice so she could be heard over the roar.

"No." Nokoru said darkly as he watched the grief-stricken bluenette stagger his way through his relatives. "Ijuyn Shigetoshi-sama was the only Onaii revived as a homunculus. He couldn't have any connections as to what's been happening in the campus because he was in France."

The blonde was thinking out loud very fast. "And apparently he's dead...so this is the work of completely someone else, more powerful than Ijuyn-sama and works alone."

"Okaa-san? Okaa-san!"

Suoh was ahead of them by three or so graves away. He found his mother on the ground but leaning against Mrs. Yudaiji's tombstone. His companions hurried after him.

"Okaa-san please wake up," the young ninja whispered. He could see a fatal bruise forming on her neck.

"Suoh?" answered a weak voice, barely audible over the rain.

Immense relief washed over Mrs. Takamura's son. Her hand was taken in his.

"Okaa..."

"Forgive me...if we left so suddenly without telling you anything," the elegant woman began. Her face momentarily screwed up in pain as talking made her injured neck hurt.

"Okaa we can take you to the hospital--"

"No Suoh, my son, listen to me..."

He did as he was told and went closer to his mother. His friends looked upon the scene with a mixture of respect, awe and sorrow.

"They know about the Onaii," said Mrs. Takamura. "But don't worry, not everyone of us is in danger. After all, the homunculus we fought abroad is dead; when we came back, we did not expect just one more..." She paused to rest. "I don't need to be alive to see what you will do, my son. Because I know you'll end this...we don't want anymore enemies."

Her voice grew faint and dull lavender orbs slowly slid closed. "Whatever you do...never fail your One...aishiteru...Suoh..."

With that, the master ninja lost consciousness.

"Suoh," Idomu called. "The ambulance is here. She still has a chance."

The bluenette turned and saw the huge white vehicle. The hospital crew had cleared wet carnage without question, but they were certainly struck terrified with what they had found.

"A...arigatou gozaimasu," said Suoh and watched the ambulance drive away at top speed.

No sooner had it disappeared around the corner, Utako screamed.

"Utako-san!" Nagisa cried, alarmed.

The ebony-haired girl was pointing to the grave beside Idomu's mother's, which was Akira's.

It looked like it had be exhumed...and the dead had crawled out.

"Kaichou..." the bluenette sniffed and buried his tear-stained, rain-saturated face in the crook of his neck of the boy whom he saw as his kouhai. In his heart, he truly believed.

Nokoru shut his eyes at his best friend's pain and hugged him tightly. "Gomenasai Suoh, but permit me to be your bodyguard instead."

"Nokoru!" the bluentte protested.

"Look," the blonde said firmly. "You're much more in danger that I am now. This homunculus is a relentless Onaii. He won't feel accomplished until you're killed and I won't allow that to happen."

When he saw the other boy hesitate, Nokoru sighed.

"I will protect you. We're in this pact together..."

Suoh finally smiled. "Hai...hai. Let's do this."

Idomu nodded. Utako and Nagisa beside him were still crying, looking warily at the open grave.

"We're only dealing with one guy. How are we going to find him?" asked the lilac-haired girl.

"Hayaku miina-san," said the redhead. "Stick together. I have an idea of where the Onaii homunculus could be."

The small sopping party was once more hot on the mystery man's trail. They had the general feeling of unsettled relief. For every pro they saw in the situation, there was a consequent con.

Sure they only had one adversary, but he was powerful and undead. The wounded Takamuras have been safely transferred, but if this killer gets to just one target Takamura, all is lost.

They were heading for the shade of the subway because Idomu believed that the Onaii was there. They didn't know how they could possibly kill a product of human-making alchemy; those things weren't exactly taught in normal schools.

They didn't even know who they were dealing with, no face, no voice. Nokoru, however, had a hunch, but if he told anyone; the reaction would be sensational.

**TBC**

A/N: Forgive typographical errors.


	10. Chapter 10

**What Happened?**

_**Chapter Ten**_

They were running past the immense fountain fronting the Elementary Division Building. Nokoru and Suoh were closely side by side.

"Hide," the former commanded and thrust a small bottle of powered substance in his hand.

"…Is this hypoallergenic?" came the absurd question of the latter.

A twitch of a smile threatened to engulf the blonde's face. "Yes. Don't worry about it. Just…explode the powder down your front. You'll be hidden from the eyes of the homunculus."

A hand squeezed his in thanks.

It was the dead of the night, the height of the witching hour. The storm had ceased her wrath. Department buildings with sporadically lighted windows loomed overhead.

Sudden rows of trees blocked the moon.

"Kaichou…" Idomu came.

The party skidded to a halt and turned their gazes to the starless sky.

"How are we going to kill the homunculus again?" Utako asked in a whisper.

"We're not going to fight, Ohkawa-san," Suoh answered. "We're going to end this."

"How? You mean surrender?" Nagisa did not understand.

"Never." vowed their red-haired friend.

Something rustled among the canopy of leaves overhead. Shadows seemingly leapt and moved in all sides. It was as if the crickets and birds vanished.

"It wouldn't be like you to give up, kaichou…" spoke a voice from within the depths of darkness.

Utako froze where she was. Nagisa and Idomu blanched, and though the latter had been prepared for such a possibility, he had been prepared for the actual thing.

Nokoru and Suoh, however, remained quite unfazed.

The homunculus in the form of Ijuyn Akira stepped into the light to meet them.

In truth, the brunette did not seem to have changed. He was leaner though and more stern. An eerie coldness now replaced honest storm gray eyes.

Tiger gold orbs widened as they saw their much coveted Nokoru, but Suoh clearly knew he was seeing wrong, and he was very glad it was that way.

"Where is he?" Akira hissed.

The mark of the homunculi was evidently seen on his chest, the crest of the Onaii on his hand.

"Why?" Utako screamed suddenly. She got the feeling that whatever Nokoru gave to the ninja made him unseen. "What would you do?"

The homunculus raised an eyebrow, making a most disturbing sight. "Utako-san," he said with the twitch of a sneer. "What does it matter to you?"

"It matters to all of us, Ijuyn-san," said Idomu. "We're his friends and we're protecting him. We refuse your advances to kill him."

"So is this a ploy?" Akira asked, putting his hands on his hips. "Hide the Takamura and meet me instead? Where is he? Mourning over his dead relatives?"

The small group fronting him was speechless in shock and fear. The younger girls were unaware of tears streaming down in torrents from wide eyes.

Nokoru was no exception. Though his face did not betray his feelings, his inability to speak did.

"What's the matter, kaichou?" taunted the homunculus. "Did you anticipate this? The day when your precious bodyguard would no longer be there to make up for you incompetence?"

For the first time in years, the fearless blonde faltered. Not even when Idomu was still bitter and had wreaked havoc in the campus did he falter, but now…now was different. Now was scary, now was not a situation where his mind could function properly, now was not another of the numerous times he could mask his real emotions from the world. Now was the time his heart revealed itself to the nations, and it was bleeding.

"Akira…" his voice broke for a fleeting moment; there was a gleam of familiarity in silver-gray eyes.

Suoh was having immense trouble keeping up with what was happening. His vision was increasingly clouding. His best friend beside him and their adversary facing them were switching faces. They were swimming in and out of his seeing range, the earth beneath him was starting to spin.

Without warning, the bluenette's head injury seared with pain. Suoh's body shook and he made a great deal of effort not to cry out and give himself away.

Nagisa moved toward him but the ninja stopped her with a look. Nokoru sensed the younger boy collapse on the ground, but he did not shift. Idomu and Utako jerked involuntarily.

A split second later, Suoh rose again, grave and solemn, quite altered from his old self, as if someone pushed a button to activate something.

In a smooth, blink-of-an-eye-long move, the bluenette rounded up his companions and slammed them up a tree.

"Suoh?" Nokoru asked, but stopped when summer blue met tiger gold; they, too, were cold and indifferent.

"Stay." was his command.

He darted toward the off guard Akira and tackled him to the ground with incredible force, dislodging the powder that had hid him.

"_My son," the great master ninja Takamura had informed him. "Every one of us in this clan has the power to fight an Onaii with fierce and disciplined force as how our ancestors did. Every one of us has the choice to use this fighting skill or not in the entire course of our lives. Let us chose not to, Suoh, because fighting the Onaii today is pointless. It is time this war is ended…"_

When the homunculus saw, his twisted grin broadened.

"It's about time."

The ninja did not respond to the jeer. He stood up still wearing that most indifferent expression on his face and took a fighting stance. Akira followed the suit.

The rest watched in horror as the last legendary battle between the Takamura and the Onaii began.

The bluenette charged, the brunette stayed cool. In a graceful twist, the ninja was up in the sky and crash-landed on his back on the ground behind his late kouhai.

The two sent gravel flying as one of them got to his feet and the other one wheeled about. Blows, kicks, punches and whatever else were violently exchanged between them. Both were still calm and collected, as if the dolls from Angelic Layer who looked like them had been made to face off.

The homunculus had enough philandering; he bared his fist and its fingers lengthened into sharp, thin blades.

Utako cried out.

The ninja, in turn, brandished a curious silver kounai that nobody had seen before. He did a complicated gesture and the throwing knife extended into a great, deadly katana.

Nokoru knew there was something terribly wrong with the picture. He glanced at Idomu for help and he got the same anxious expression. Suoh was breaking his promise to his family in front of them. It was unacceptable!

Against anyone's will, the blonde jumped right in the line of fire.

"SUOH! STOP!"

He saw it. Nokoru's face.

Finally…

…but what was wrong?

The bluenette's gaze shifted to the blonde's abdomen.

Five shining weapons had impaled the chairman's gut and were jutting out from it. Blood spurted from the large wound.

"_There's a reason why you see Imonoyama-sama as Ijuyn-sama," Tetsuya had explained in a private conversation between him and Suoh. "It has a something to do with how to kill a homunculus, because the only way to kill them is if you destroy a part of themselves, in whatever shape or form. Once you do so, the homunculus become mortal…and it can die."_

"NOKORU!"

Several voices resounded in the night sky and the soft thud of body hitting the earth was drowned out.

**Epilogue in a mo…**


	11. Epilogue

**What Happened?**

_**Epilogue**_

How many cups of tea had he had?

Imonoyama Nokoru could not help it. It was milk tea just the way he had always loved it done. Ayuza Nagisa could have made them better.

Yudaiji Idomu watched his Director from his desk as Vice Chair. The redhead could not resist smiling. It's been quite a while since his best friend had fun; the campus had been so busy recently. It was amusing to see him laugh apologetically as Nagisa offered him more cookies.

"Idomu? Would you like some?"

Ohkawa Utako sweetly held up a cup of steaming tea to her boyfriend. Idomu blushed and took it with an awkward thanks. The president of the University Student Council giggled adorably.

Idomu got up from his seat and joined his friends eating afternoon tea by the large coffee table. Takamura Suoh, the Executive Secretary of the campus, stopped a bit in the middle of filing to look at the jovial party across him.

Many years ago, though it felt like yesterday, the Department of Differential Reality had said that homunculi resembled the humans they were modeled after, but had totally different action and could only remember their pasts with the help of stimuli.

Suoh begged to differ. Even after his transmutation, Nokoru remained the same, remembered everything that happened in his life and was not psychotic and blood-thirsty. The gaping hole and trauma Ijuyn Akira left was still quite fresh in all of them.

But everyone coped, and were still coping.

"Suoh!"

Speaking of the perky blonde, the said person bounced up to the bluenette with a small plate of freshly-made pastry.

"Nagisa made cookies!"

"I can see that, rijichou…" replied his best friend, blinking at the closeness of the food.

"It's made just the way you like it! You're really lucky to find a girl who can cook and play music at the same time, you know." Suoh reddened at Nokoru's taunting. "Stop filing and come eat with us! It isn't everyday the girls get to visit like this!"

Suoh laughed and gave in. "Alright Nokoru! Just make sure you finish your paperwork by today or I'm not letting you eat any afternoon teas in the next three weeks."

The director cast a lazy glance at the towering stacks of paper and nonchalantly waved his hand. "I'll get it done."

Little did they know, a small fire had begun in one of the smaller stacks.

"ACK! RIJICHOU! YOU WON'T GET ANYWHERE WITH SETTING THE PAPERWORK ON FIRE!!!"

The party laughed as there was a small chase between the blonde and the bluenette. It took tackling the former to the ground and having him in some sort of power-grip.

"Iie! Iie! Gomenasai Suoh! I'll get it done! I'll get it done!"

"And you'll replaced the damaged paperwork?!"

"Hai! Hai!"

The ninja let go of his captive and the other inhabitants of the room doubled over in more laughs.

"Now, let's eat!" declared Idomu.

"Hayaku, Suoh!" called his soft spoken girlfriend. "You tea will get cold."

Suoh momentarily noted the mark of the homunculi on Nokoru's stomach, just visible beneath the rumpled cloth of his polo.

"After this we could plan a party!" the determined exclamation snapped the bluenette out of his thoughts.

"That sounds like a great idea," smiled the pianist and they all…again…laughed.

Whatever happened, some things never changed.

**END**


End file.
